For a step-by-step in-system walkthrough, log into your Libsyn show, then click here.

The options found under Show Settings give you the ability to set your overall show settings and defaults. Here, we will go over some of the most important settings surrounding the overall setup of your show. To get started, hover over Settings and hit Show Settings found along your main menu bar across the top of your dashboard.

Required Settings

The first set of fields are required, and should be configured prior to submitting to podcast directories.

Show Title: Your show title will appear on your feed, in iTunes, on your Libsyn blog page, in your media player, everywhere you syndicate your show – your show title will appear. This can be changed at any time.

Show Slug: The show slug is a unique name that is associated with your show and makes up your show URL’s. For example, if your show title is My Awesome Show, your show slug might be “myawesomeshow”. In which case, your feed URL will be:

http://myawesomeshow.libsyn.com/rss

Your file download URL would look like this:

http://traffic.libsyn.com/myawesomeshow/<file name>

The slug doesn’t have to follow the show title, it could be an abbreviation, it could be your name, it can be whatever you want. Your show slug is also used to identify your show by our support team. As it must be unique, the slug is set at the time you create your show in our system.

If you feel you need to change your slug, consider these consequences first:

Any podcast directory submissions, such as to iTunes, will break. There is a lengthy resubmission process necessary to set the show back up in most podcast directories after arbitrarily changing the feed URL.

All URLs to your show, including feed, blog, and file URLs will change.

You will lose all subscribers, ratings, and reviews.

If you still wish to change your show slug, contact our support team at support@libsyn.com who can make this change for you.

Show Description: This description may appear on your Libsyn blog page, or in the Libsyn Podcast Directory.Important note – this description does not affect your iTunes summary, this should get edited on your Feed destination.

Website Address:The website address field will default to your Libsyn blog page when your show is created. You can modify this to your own website URL if you have one hosted elsewhere. This gets sent to your RSS feed which iTunes picks up on.

Additional Show Details

The next set of fields are not required, and are primarily used in different areas of your show, rather than inside podcast directories. Each one is identified and explained below.

iTunes Show Type: The show type can be set here, or under Settings -> Show Settings. Your show is either episodic, or serial.

Episodic: Episodes are released chronologically and the order the listener listens in doesn’t matter. The majority of shows currently are episodic.

Serial: Episodes are released in a specific order, and should be listened to in that order. This generally would apply to episodes that follow a story line such as an audio book.

Tags/Keywords: This is a depreciated field that will be removed in the future.

Public Contact Email: This e-mail will populate your RSS feed and can be used by subscribers to contact you, to contact the show. Make sure whatever e-mail address you enter here is valid, but also is one you don’t mind being public.

Default Show Feed: If you have a third party feed you are using, you can choose to advertise that as your default RSS feed. In most cases, you will want to leave this setting as it is.

iTunes Store Web Address: Once you have submitted your show to iTunes and are approved, you will receive a URL that points to your show page in the iTunes store. It will look a bit like this:

Enter this URL in this text box. This will populate in places like your Libsyn Podcast Page or your Libsyn Custom Player so that listeners can easily access your show in iTunes and become a subscriber.

Tunein Web Address: Once you have submitted your show to TuneIn and are approved, you will receive a URL that points to your show page in TuneIn. Enter this URL in this text box. This will populate in places like your Libsyn Podcast Page or your Libsyn Custom Player so that listeners can easily access your show in TuneIn and become a subscriber.

Stitcher Web Address: Once you have submitted your show to Stitcher and are approved, you will receive a URL that points to your show page in Stitcher. Enter this URL in this text box. This will populate in places like your Libsyn Podcast Page or your Libsyn Custom Player so that listeners can easily access your show in Stitcher and become a subscriber.

Google Play Music Web Address: Once you have submitted your show to Google Play Music and are approved, you will receive a URL that points to your show page in Google Play Music. Enter this URL in this text box. This will populate in places like your Libsyn Podcast Page or your Libsyn Custom Player so that listeners can easily access your show in Google Play Music and become a subscriber.

Copyright Notice: This copyright notice will populate your feed and will appear in any directory that displays the notice.

Moderate Comments: If you are utilizing the Libsyn podcast page and have comments enabled, you can check or uncheck this box in order to enable comment moderation.

Working with Show Artwork

To upload your show artwork, hit Upload New, and then browse your computer for your image file. Note that iTunes is very specific as to the artwork they will accept. Those requirements are:

1400x1400px minimum

3000x3000px maximum

Under 500kb in file size

Use sRGB Colorspace

Be a JPG, JPEG, or a PNG file

Your image should be somewhere between 1400x1400px and 3000x3000px in size, as long as it is square. That means your image could be 2000x2000px, but it cannot be 2000x20001px in size.

Another pro tip worth mentioning, if you are going to use a PNG file, do not use transparency. Transparent PNGs tend to become blurry in the iTunes store, and transparency in show artwork isn’t necessary.

Working with Widescreen Images

In some instances, Libsyn will accept your audio file and combined with an image from your show, will generate a video. This video can then be uploaded to YouTube or Facebook using the Libsyn OnPublish destinations. As these services support widescreen video (16×9), uploading a widescreen image to the show will allow the created video to fit.

Recommended Image Size: 1920x1080px

Setting Directory Color

The Libsyn Podcast Directory offers a page for your show along with a listing of your episodes. The page is colored based on the core color of your show artwork.

Changing the theme color will change the color used in the directory.

Sync/Import Feed

The feed sync is used primarily for two purposes.

Pulling content in from an external source using third party RSS feed. This can be used in order to maintain a sync between that third party and your Libsyn hosted show.

*Migrating content from a third party to Libsyn, such as during a show migration from host to host.

*Note: If migrating from another host, please contact support@libsyn.com first. The team will verify and validate your third party feed and your existing show settings and ensure storage is adjusted appropriately for the import. There may be an additional fee for imports.

Enable Sync with an External Feed: Check this box to open up the feed sync options and turn feed sync on.

Source Feed Address: Enter the feed URL to the third party feed you wish to pull content from. Note: Do NOT enter your Libsyn feed URL in this box.

Ignore Changes to Show Metadata: With this box unchecked, any metadata (titles, descriptions, artwork) will update from your source feed. With this box checked, metadata will not update with the feed sync. Only new content will be brought in.

Delete Items Not Found In Feed: This feature is designed to allow for a near exact parity between the source RSS feed and your Libsyn show. Any items inside your Libsyn show that are not in the source feed will be deleted from the Libsyn show.

Custom Domains

If you already have a website, you probably already own a domain and are likely using that domain with that website. For example, you might have a blog titled “My Awesome Blog” which can be found at:

www.myawesomeblog.com

If, however, you have your podcast and don’t already have a website, you can purchase a domain at a domain registrar (such as pairNic or Hover) and add that domain to your Libsyn show.

This will allow you to use that custom domain with your Libsyn RSS feed and Libsyn generated Podcast Page.

Note: The custom domain will not mask your media file URLs.

BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH ADDING A CUSTOM DOMAIN

It is important to understand that if you are already using a domain on a website, you cannot use that domain with your Libsyn show. If you still want to utilize a custom domain with your Libsyn show, please contact support@libsyn.com for additional options.

Your final step in adding a custom domain is to contact support@libsyn.com. Your custom domain will not work until you do so.The team will finalize the configuration and provide you with the appropriate records necessary to add at your domain registrar, which will allow the domain to properly work with your RSS feed and Podcast Page.

Hit Save to save your changes.

Have additional questions? Reach out to our friendly support staff at support@libsyn.com.